Actuating mechanism for pneumatically effecting remote control of movable toys



KISABURO OKUMA 3,51 ACTUA'IING MECHANISM FOR PNEUMATICALLY EFFECTING REMOTE Filed A ril 16. 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 CONTROL OF MOVABLE TOYS FIG.2.

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ACTUATING MECHANISM FOR PNEUMATICALLY EFFECTING REMOTE CONTROL OF MQVABLE TOYS Filed April 16. 1968 2 Sheets-Shee 2 r-i|2f-- v a q- (0 3"" m g n qn v v \J i V INVENTOR.

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United States Patent Int. 01.1 1511 7/00, 7/08 U.S. Cl. 60-625 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An actuating mechanism for remote control of movable toys comprises a casing, bellows in said casing, and a presser operatively connected to the bellows. When said presser is operated, the bellows are compressed and expanded to provide air under pressure for control of a movable toy.

This invention relates to an actuating mechanism for remote control of movable toys which permits to start a movable toy or cause the same to change its direction of movement.

According to the invention, there is provided an actuating mechanism for pneumatically controlling movable toys comprising a casing, means for supplying air under pressure, such as bellows secured at one end of the casing, and presser means operatively connected to the other end of the bellows for causing compression and expansion of the bellows and for thereby supplying air under pressure for pneumatic remote control of the operating mechanism of the toy.

Additional features of the invention are pointed out in the following description of preferred embodiments thereof which are shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of an actuating mechanism of this invention and of a movable toy pneumatically controlled thereby;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the actuating mechanism shown at A in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b) are perspective views respectively showing the outer appearance and internal structure of another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the internal st111c ture of another embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 5 shows a further embodiment of the invention; FIG. 5(a) being a side view and FIG. 5(b) being a perspective view showing its internal structure.

The invention will now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an actuating mechanism according to the invention which comprises a plastic casing 1. The upper portion of the casing forms a chamber 2 for bellows 4, and the lower portion of the casing forms an elongated grip 3 of U- shaped cross section. One end of the bellows 4 is secured to a wall of the chamber 2. A presser plate 5 is attached to the other end of the bellows 4 and integral with a trigger member 6 in the grip 3. An exposed surface of the trigger member has five juxtaposed grooves for the users fingers. The lower end of the trigger member 6 is pivotally supported on a pin 7 in the lower end of the grip 3.

The trigger member 6 is normally biased by a torsion spring 8 on the pin 7 to hold the bellows 4 expanded. A flexible tube 9 connects the bellows 4 to a similar member (not shown) on a toy car 10 which is to be remotely controlled, as is-disclosed in more detail in my simultaneously -filed applications Ser. Nos. 721,711 and 721,853. A pointer 11 integral with the plate 5 projects upward from a slot 12 in the casing 1 and indicates the effective length of the bellows 4.

In the operation of the embodiment of the invention described above, the grip 3 and the trigger member 6 are held by hand and squeezed so as to move the trigger member '6 backwardly against the biasing force of the spring 8. This causes the presser plate 5 to compress the bellows 4 so that air under pressure is supplied through the narrow flexible tube 9 to the toy 10. If a valve is mounted in the narrow flexible tube 9 on the side of the toy 10 and the narrow flexible tube is bifurcated into two branch lines, one being connected to bellows for changing the direction of movement of the toy and the other being connected to bellows for opening and closing a switch of an electric motor driving the toy, it is possible to cause the toy to change its direction of movement or to start or stop the toy by pulling the trigger member 6 slowly or quickly. More specifically, if the trigger member 6 is pulled slowly, air is supplied to the valve, but its pressure is not sufliciently high to activate the valve, the air passes through the valve into the bellows for changing the direction of movement. If, on the other hand, the trigger member -6 is pulled quickly, air is supplied to the valve to actuate the same by a sudden increase in pressure. This results in the air finding its way into the bellows for opening and closing the power switch.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the invention.

One end of bellows 14 is attached to an inner wall of a casing 13, while the other end of the bellows is attached to a lever 16 pivoted in the casing 13 on a pin 15. An arm of the lever 16 projects from a slot 17 in the casing 13. The actuator 19 of a power switch for a drive motor of the controlled toy projects through another slot 18 of the casing 13, the motor being connected with the switch by wires 21 on opposite sides of a flexible tube 20 which connects the bellows 14 to the toy.

When the lever 16 is operated, the bellows 14 is compresesd and air under pressure is supplied to the controlled toy to change its direction of movement or otherwise to control the same. This embodiment of the invention is suitable particularly for toys whose real-life counterparts are operated by means of a lever, such as bulldozers.

The actuating mechanism seen in FIG. 4 has a casing 22 enclosing bellows 23. A semi-circular presser link 24 connects the free end of the bellows 23 to a radial arm 26 on a steering wheel column 25 which carries a steer ing wheel 27. The bellows 23 is connected by a tube 28 to the steering mechanism of the controlled toy.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 5, bellows 30 is housed in one leg of an L-shaped casing 29 whose other leg forms a grip 31 and encloses another bellows 32. Pressers 33, 34 are respectively attached to the free ends of the two bellows.

The presser 33 is similar to the link 24, being hinged to the free end of the bellows 30 and to the free end of a radial arm 33' axially slidable on a steering column 35 of square cross section, but secured on the column against rotation. The presser 34 is fastened to the free ends of the shaft 35 and of the bellows 32. The pressers 33, 34 thus connect the bellows to the steering column 35 in such a manner that the bellows 30 is compressed or expanded by turning a steering wheel 36 on the col umn 35, while the other bellows 32 is operated by moving the wheel 36 axially, thecolumn 35 being axially slidable on the casing 29. Each bellows can be operated while the other is inoperative.

The bellows 30, 32 are connected by flexible tubes 37, 38 to corresponding bellows in the operating mech anism of the controlled toy, only one bellows 39 connected to the bellows 32 being shown. The bellows 39 3 stops, starts, and reverses an electric drive motor 41 of the toy, and controls the motor speed by means of a control switch 40.

The switch has an operating rod 42 pivoted on a pin 43 and hinged to the bellows 39. The rod 42 carries two movable contacts or brushes 44, 45 respectively connected to the two poles of a battery 46. Two resistors 47, 48 respectively connected to the terminals of the motor 41 extend in respective arcs of almost 180 about the pin 43 in such a manner as to be out of contact with the apparatus.

When the steering wheel 36 is moved axially, flow of air between the bellows 32, 39 causes the rod 42 to pivot and to connect the brushes 44, 45 with the resistors 47, 48 respectively. The direction of rotation of the motor 41 depends on the direction of axial movement of the wheel 36, and the speed of the motor is a function of the distance over which the wheel 36 is moved from the illustrated position. The motor 41 is stopped by return ing the wheel 36 to the neutral position.

When the wheel 36 is turned while in any of its axial positions, the bellows 30 is expanded or compressed to operate the steering mechanism of the connected car in a manner shown in more detail in the aforementioned copending applications.

What I claim is:

1. In a movable toy having an operating mechanism, an actuating mechanism for remote control of the operating mechanism, and a flexible conduit connecting said mechanisms, the improvement in the actuating mechanism which comprises:

(a) a casing;

(b) bellows means means enclosed in said casing, said bellows means having two end portions and being operable to supply air under pressure when the effective length of said bellows means between said end portions is varied, one of said end portions being secured to said casing; and

(c) pressure means movably mounted on said casing and operatively connected to the other end portion for operating said bellows means when said presser means is moved, said bellows means communicating with said conduit, said presser means including (1) a pressure member secured to said other end portion, and

(2) a trigger member pivoted on said casing and fixedly fastened to said presser member, said trigger member being elongated and having a longitudinal face accessible outside said casing, said face being formed with a plurality of transverse, longitudinally juxtaposed grooves.

2. In a toy as set forth in claim 1, said casing being elongated transversely of said length of said bellows means and having two longitudinally terminal portions, said bellows means and said presser member being received in one of said terminal portions, said improvement further including a pivot pin on a part of the other terminal portion of said casing remote from said one terminal portion, said trigger member being mounted on said pivot pin and extending from the same to said presser member.

3. In a toy as set forth in claim 2, said casing being formed with a longitudinally extending opening, said longitudinal face of the trigger member projecting from said opening, and yieldably resilient means biasing said face of said trigger member in a direction outwardly of said casing and thereby biasing said bellows for increasing said effective length of the same.

4. In a toy as set forth in claim 2, said one terminal portion of said casing being formed with a slot elongated in the direction of said length of the bellows, and a pointer fixedly fastened to said presser member and to said trigger member and received in said slot for movement with the trigger member when the latter is moved inwardly of said opening against the restraint of said yieldably resilient means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 316,688 4/1885 Van Hoevenbergh 6062.5 XR 2,292,527 8/1942 Kraft 6062.6 3,234,739 2/1966 Pierce 6062.6 3,346,999 10/1967 Ryan et al 46-44 MARTIN P. SCHWADRON, Primary Examiner R. BUNEVICH, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

